UK air traffic control hit by ‘technical issue’ as more than 500 flights cancelled – latest updates

Breaking: Technical issue ‘identified and remedied’, National Air Traffic Services says

National Air Traffic Services (Nats) has “identified and remedied” the technical issue which has caused hundreds of flights to be cancelled, the company has announced.

“We are now working closely with airlines and airports to manage the flights affected as efficiently as possible,” the company said in a statement. “Our engineers will be carefully monitoring the system’s performance as we return to normal operations.

“The flight planning issue affected the system’s ability to automatically process flight plans, meaning that flight plans had to be processed manually which cannot be done at the same volume, hence the requirement for traffic flow restrictions.

“Our priority is always to ensure that every flight in the UK remains safe and we are sincerely sorry for the disruption this is causing. Please contact your airline for information on how this may affect your flight.”

Andy Gregory28 August 2023 15:57

More than 500 flights to and from UK cancelled so far

As engineers work to fix the air-traffic control system failure, the scale of the travel chaos is becoming apparent.

The aviation analyst Cirium says 232 flights have been cancelled departing UK airports so far today, equivalent to around 8 per cent of all departures.

Inbound to the UK, 271 flights have been cancelled arriving into UK airports – equivalent to around 9 per cent of arrivals.

Those numbers are certain to increase as delays extend – leading to pilots and cabin crew running “out of hours” in which they are able to fly.

Simon Calder28 August 2023 15:33

Tui warns of ‘significant delays'

Tui has warned of “significant delays” due to the air traffic control outage.

In a reply to a passenger asking if their flight on Tuesday morning is likely to be delayed, Tui posted on Twitter/X, saying: “Due to an air traffic control outage across UK airports, we expect that this may cause significant delays to some of our flights.

“We would like to advise customers to monitor the departure boards or your emails for further updates. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

Andy Gregory28 August 2023 15:25

UK airspace ‘remains open’, says transport secretary

Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell reports:

The transport secretary has said UK airspace “remains open” but restrictions are in place.

Mark Harper said: “UK airspace remains open but traffic flow restrictions are in place. NATS is working at pace to fix this and Aviation Minister Charlotte Vere and I are doing all we can to support them.

“In the meantime, passengers should contact their airline for up to date flight information.”

Andy Gregory28 August 2023 15:17

One million passengers booked on UK flights today

According to the aviation analyst Cirium, a total of 6,103 flights were due to arrive or depart from UK airports today – with a combined capacity of 1,083,000 seats.

While not every flight will be sold out, loads on such a key day for departures and arrivals are expected to be extremely heavy.

It is likely, therefore, that one million passengers are booked to arrive or depart. Many of them are families returning from holidays in the Mediterranean or beyond – and many more will be expected back at work after the bank holiday weekend.

One million people are likely booked to arrive and depart in the UK today

(REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska)

Andy Gregory28 August 2023 15:02

Fault identified?

A well-placed airline source says that Nats, the air-traffic provider, has identified the problem and that a fix may be put in place soon. Even if the issue is immediately solved, the disruption so far to schedules means long delays and cancellations will continue for the rest of the day.

With so little slack in the system – especially for flights returning from the Mediterranean – some travellers could find their journey home cannot take place for days.

Simon Calder28 August 2023 14:58

UK fault having ‘major’ knock-on in Ireland, minister warns

Irish transport minister Jack Chambers has warned of a “major” knock-on impact on flights to and from Ireland as a consequence of the UK air traffic control fault.

“There’s traffic flow restrictions have been introduced to maintain safety in the sky and it will have significant impacts on passengers flying in and out of Dublin, and there are multiple slot restrictions,” Mr Chambers told RTE Radio One.

“So, we’d encourage customers to contact their airline for an update but it will have a major impact on Irish travel because, obviously, the nature and the proximity to UK space.

“There will be an impact and delays of several hours for many passengers, and we’d encourage them to contact their airlines.”

Andy Gregory28 August 2023 14:56

Technical fault means flight plans being input manually, says Nats

The technical fault is affecting Nats’ ability to automatically process flight plans, the air traffic control services provider has said in its latest statement.

“Until our engineers have resolved this, flight plans are being input manually which means we cannot process them at the same volume, hence we have applied traffic flow restrictions,” the company said.

“Our technical experts are looking at all possible solutions to rectify this as quickly as possible.

“Our priority is ensuring every flight in the UK remains safe and doing everything we can to minimise the impact. Please contact your airline for information on how this may affect your flight. We are sincerely sorry for the disruption this is causing.”

(SWNS)

Andy Gregory28 August 2023 14:52

Pilot warned passengers situation is ‘unprecedented’, journalist says

A journalist caught up in the delays in Palma hoping to fly to Gatwick says passengers have been told by the pilot that this is “an unprecedented situation”.

“Three hours later and still on the tarmac after our flight was delayed due to ‘air traffic control issues’ affecting the UK. Pilot told us this is an unprecedented situation and something he’s never seen before,” said Georgia Ziebart, a producer at Sky News.

Andy Gregory28 August 2023 14:47

Heathrow: cancellations and long delays

Dozens of cancellations are now under way at London Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport.

European airlines flying from nearby cities were first to instigate cancellations of flights due to arrive at Heathrow on Monday afternoon.

Lufthansa and its subsidiary Eurowings have grounded flights from Cologne, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Stuttgart.

Air France and its partner KLM have axed departures from Paris and Amsterdam respectively to Heathrow.

British Airways has started to cancel long- and short-haul flights. The Independent understands that European links to Copenhagen, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris and Prague have been grounded, along with transatlantic flights to Chicago and Philadelphia.

Dozens more flights have been apparently rescheduled to the early hours of Tuesday morning, when Heathrow does not normally have any departures.

A ‘huge network failure’ has hit UK air traffic control

(SWNS)

Simon Calder28 August 2023 14:43